Philippians 2

     2:1-11.  To stand firm (1:27), the army of Christ must be focused and unified, using the tactics and weapons given us by Christ, and encouraged by his great victory.

     2:5.  The attitude of self-sacrifice and humility which was in Christ Jesus is the key to unity and victory.  Our unity with one another flows necessarily from our primary unity with Christ, especially in walking in his humility and obedience.

     2:6-8.   These are difficult concepts, and the Greek (we are told) is difficult to translate into English.  The wrong ideas can be suggested.   In The New Bible Commentary: Revised; Eerdmans, 1976, Francis Foulkes rightly says that Christ in no way emptied himself of his essential deity.  “It is status, not nature, which is involved, as the next phrase shows: taking the form of a servant….  The word form is the same as that in v.6, and indicates He was in reality and not merely in appearance a servant (cf. Mark 10:45).  Likeness must not be taken to mean similarity without full reality….”

     The point is that Christ, eternally and equally God with the Father, voluntarily laid aside his glory for a time to become really and fully man, so that in appearance to other men, he appeared to be only a man (cf. Is.52:14; 53:2).  Even beyond that, he humbled himself in submission and obedience to the Father’s will even to the point of a disgraceful and demeaning death on a cross (cf.Gal.3:13).

     2:9-11.  Therefore also God has highly exalted Him…; not only has all that he surrendered as the divine Son to become in the likeness of man been restored to him, but he has been highly exalted in his manhood, which he has not laid aside.  As the man Jesus, he has been exalted as Lord of all, with all creation either privileged or forced to bow before him (10; Is.45:23), and all shall confess, whether in heaven, earth, or hell, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (11).

     2:12-13.  This is a warning against presuming on God’s grace.  Salvation calls for obedience, even with fear and trembling, before an awesome God who sees.  Yet we are to work out (fulfill), not work for salvation, which is God’s work entirely, as v.13 makes plain.

     2:14-15.  It is clear that working together without grumbling and disputing, and being innocent in evil doing, does not mean that God’s people are to be babes in the woods without discernment, or that they are too nice to contend against evil, or for the truth.  Otherwise, how are they to be lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (cf.3:2)?  We do not go along to get along with evil.

        2:16-18.   Their holding fast the word of life is Paul’s hope of glory when the Lord comes to judge our life’s work.   The drink offering (libation) was to be poured out upon the altar of burnt offering (Nu.28 and 29) which was a type of Christ’s sacrifice.  Just as the libation of strong wine was poured out at the altar of burnt offering, Paul saw his life as a libation poured out at the foot of the cross of Christ (cf.2 Tim.4:6).  If death should be the outcome for Paul, this is how he will view it, as a drink offering poured out for Christ, who is the sacrifice and service (worship) of their faith, and he rejoiced in that.

      2:19-24.  He commends Timothy, whom he is sending to them as soon as he sees how things go with him (23), whether it will be a release to life, or the release of death (1:20-21).  But he rather trusts that the Lord will release him to come to them shortly (24).

     2:25-30.  In the meantime, he is sending their man Epaphroditus back to them with much commendation.  He was their gift (as well as the bearer of their gift, 4:18) to Paul, but now in view of his recent serious sickness, and the need they all have of news of each other, Paul sends this highly regarded man back to them (perhaps bearing this epistle).  V.30.  What was deficient (lacking, NKJ); this perhaps sounds a little complaining or rude in English, but Paul does not mean that their gifts or service to him lacked anything in generosity.   What was lacking was opportunity (cf.4:10).   The gift was of no value until delivered, and Epaphroditus supplied that (cf. Col.1:24, where even Christ’s afflictions are said to be lacking, but only in the sense that they did not do anyone any good until the gospel was delivered to them, and that involved much additional suffering.)